Portokalopita - Greek Orange Cake - Souvlaki For The Soul

a slice of portokalopita (greek orange pie) served on a white plate on a marble table

Portokalopita - Greek Orange Cake

Portokalopita is a Greek orange pie made with the unique combination of dried phyllo sheets and zesty oranges. Serve it with a scoop of ice cream for a fantastic dessert.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Greek

Prep Time 35

Cook Time 35

Total Time 1 10

Servings serves

Calories 465kcal

Author Peter G

Ingredients

For the syrup:

500 ml water
300 grams sugar caster or superfine
1 orange juice
1 orange zest

For the pie:

375 grams phyllo pastry dried out - torn or shredded
4 eggs
80 ml olive oil
70 grams sugar caster or superfine
250 ml Greek yoghurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 orange juice
1 orange zest

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 180 deg C (350 F) and grease 20 cm x 30 cm (8" x 12") baking dish and set aside.
Prepare the syrup by combining the water, sugar, orange juice and zest in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Allow the syrup to boil vigorously for 5 mins until it reduces slightly. Once cooked set aside and allow to cool completely. (see note 1)
In a separate bowl, tear and shred the phyllo into small pieces till it resembles torn pieces of paper. (see note 2)
In another bowl, combine the eggs, olive oil, sugar, yoghurt, vanilla, orange juice and zest and whisk until smooth. Pour this batter over the torn, dried phyllo pieces and mix well - ensuring the phyllo is mixed well into the batter. Pour into the greased baking dish and bake for 35 mins. (check at 30 mins by inserting a skewer).
Remove the pie from the oven and using a sharp knife, score the pie into desired serving sizes and pour over the cold syrup. Allow cooling completely before serving. (see note 3)

Video

Notes

Let your syrup cool. When making portokalopita, along with many Greek syrup-based desserts, my most important tip is to use a cold syrup on a hot cake. If you combine two hot elements, you will end up with mush!
Dry your phyllo sheets. You can do this two ways.
1. The natural way - remove the phyllo sheets from the packet and shred them into smaller pieces as best you can. Place them on a baking tray and leave them dry naturally. It can take anywhere between 30 mins. - 1 hour (depending on your climate).
2. The cheats way - heat your oven to 100C/200F, shred them in smaller pieces and cook them in 2-3 batches for about 45 mins. - 1 hour. Make sure you check on them every 15 mins. and mix the pieces around (this will allow the filo to cook evenly). Let them cool and crush them lightly - this will help keep some texture on the cake.
Serve cold. Portokalopita is not a pie you serve warm. Instead, place it in the refrigerator to allow the orange sugar syrup to be absorbed. Serve with a scoop of ice cream or even Greek yogurt.

Nutrition